‘The good life:’ Former Tega Cay mayor Runde remembered for passion leading his city

The city he led has a motto, and people who knew Bob Runde say he more than lived up to it.

He also made sure “the good life” was something anyone in Tega Cay could enjoy.

“A great guy that loved this city,” said friend Ron Kirby. “He helped make the good life what it is today.”

Runde, two-term mayor and long-time volunteer in Tega Cay, died Aug. 14. He was 77. Runde served as mayor from 2002 to 2009. Runde also was a businessman and former owner of Grid Iron restaurant in Steele Creek.

Current Mayor David O’Neal posted a tribute to Runde on the city’s website, describing Runde’s impact from the time he moved to the area from New York in the 1970s through recent years.

“He was a passionate man,” it states. “He was passionate about his family, he was passionate about his Pepsi, and he was passionate about all things Tega Cay.”

Runde also pushed for more recreation. Athletic fields near the city’s original fire station are there in large thanks to Runde.

“He was instrumental in getting some of the very first youth leagues started here,” O’Neal said. “Our original athletic fields are named after him as he convinced the developer to give up that spot of land.”

Gene Esarove served with Runde on the Tega Cay Vintage Club board and ran one of Runde’s mayoral campaigns. From leading the city’s property owner association as a gated community to being a charter member for Tega Cay Lions Club, Esarove says his friend “did a lot for Tega Cay.”

“He started all that up and did it for the longest time,” Esarove said. “He also started Hubert Graham Way that goes from Tega Cay all the way to Walmart. He got that going.”

Runde helped annex property and set aside walking paths along Tega Cay Drive. He did the books for civic clubs and brought in new commercial tax base.

“He did a lot of things here in Tega Cay that they still do,” Esarove said.

Esarove supported Runde as mayor for his vision.

“He was a good administrator, and he got things done,” Esarove said. “He looked into the future.”

Kirby served with Runde for years as a council member.

“He immediately made a lot of changes, ruffled a lot of feathers,” Kirby said. “But the end result was good.”

Kirby mentioned some of the additions Runde helped bring to the city - Stonecrest, Gardendale, Serenity Point, the golf clubhouse and controversial Walmart. Kirby recalls “horrific phone calls” against it and meetings lasting past midnight.

Kirby said Runde was a keen negotiator and remembers his “stone-faced” look during talks.

“When the doors were closed he smiled and said we got it done, and laughed,” Kirby said.

What fewer people know about Runde, Kirby said, is he quietly helped others. Runde “came to the table for me several times personally,” Kirby said, and would help people find jobs or rides. Runde’s office, the “gray house” as most knew it, was used multiple times when a family was displaced by fire or something else.

Runde “created great community,” Kirby said, whether in serious or candid moments. “He was a go getter. He talked about how we’re going to do it and not why we can’t.”

In 2009, the Fort Mill Times featured Runde before he left office. He contemplated his legacy leading the city he so loved.

“I have no regrets,” he said then, “because we’ve done a tremendous amount of work for the good of Tega Cay.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 2:25 PM.